Fingernail polishing device

ABSTRACT

An automatic fingernail polishing device of the present invention comprising a polishing body (or bodies) formed of a plurality of separate buffs of different diameters piled laterally in layers from both sides toward the center with separators therebetween so as to form a cylindrical body with its circumferential surface representing a concave circular arc configuration suitable for application of a fingernail thereto. The polishing body is fixedly mounted on a rotatable shaft, singly or in series and is driven by a suitable driving means. In operation, due to the specific construction of the polishing body, a lustrous finish of the nail(s) may be accomplished without the nails being overheated or damaged, mainly on effect on the outer buffs bending inwardly, as a result of their larger diameter, when a nail is being pressed thereagainst, preventing the nail from contacting the surfaces of the separators between the buffs.

I United States Patent [1 1 Tsukamoto 1 1 FINGERNAIL POLISHING DEVICE Sakichi Tsukamoto, 1,3-chome, Toyotama Kita, Nerima-ku, Tokyo, Japan [22] Filed: Jan. 8, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 431,737

[76] Inventor:

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data May 2, 1973 Japan 48-48434 May 2, 1973 48-48435 May 2, 1973 48-48436 May 2, 1973 Japan 48-48437 [52] US. Cl. 132/73; 51/206 R [51] Int. Cl. A45D 29/00 [58] Field of Search 132/73, 75.6, 76.4;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,828,663 10/1931 Jopp 51/209 R 1,991,834 2/1935 Albertson 2,056,379 10/1936 Acocella. 2,144,987 1/1939 Miller 2,395,492 2/1946 Meyer 2,396,505 3/1946 Gumper 51/206 R NOV. 4, 1975 5/1963 Strzoda 51/206 R 11/1970 Borgh 51/327 Primary Examiner-G. E. McNeil] Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Waters, Schwartz & Nissen ABSTRACT An automatic fingernail polishing device of the present invention comprising a polishing body (or bodies) formed of a plurality of separate buffs of different diameters piled laterally in layers from both sides toward the center with separators therebetween so as to form a cylindrical body with its circumferential surface representing a concave circular arc configuration suitable for application of a fingernail thereto. The polishing body is fixedly mounted on a rotatable shaft, singly or in series and is driven by a suitable driving means.

In operation, due to the specific construction of the polishing body, a lustrous finish of the nail(s) may be accomplished without the nails being overheated or damaged, mainly on effect on the outer buffs bending inwardly, as a result of their larger diameter, when a nail is being pressed thereagainst, preventing the nail from contacting the surfaces of the separators between the buffs.

3 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures US. Patent NOV. 4, 1975 Sheet 1 of2 3,916,920

Sheet 2 of 2 US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 .device, and more particularly, to an automatic fingernail polishing device comprising at least one cylindrical polishing body formed of a plurality of circular buffs to which a fingernail is applied.

The conventional nail polishing has beenmade for fingernails one by one using sand paper or the like materials. However, this method required much time and since the polishing materials'were usually flat it was difficult to have a smooth and lusterous finish corresponding to the shape of each fingernail.

The fingernail polishing device according to the present invention comprises a polishing body (or bodies) formed of a plurality of buffs of different diameters piled laterally in layers one by one from both sides toward the center with separators therebetween so as to form a cylindrical body with its circumferential surface representing a concave circular arc configuration suitable for application of a fingernail thereto. The'polishing body is fixedly mounted on a rotatable shaftand is driven by a driving means such as a motor whereby the fingernail (or nails) can be polished automatically. Further, the polishing body as above mentioned may be mounted in series on an elongated central shaft with collars of suitable width therebetween so that more than one fingernail can be polished automatically and simultaneously.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an automaticfingernail polishing device comprising a nail polishing body formed of a plurality of circular buffs piled in layers with separators therebetween, and mounted on a central shaft driven by a driving means, and a housing containing said polishing body and said driving means whereby a fingernail may be polished automatically.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic fingernail polishing device comprising a plurality of the polishing body units each having the construction as aforesaid mounted on an elongated shaft or shafts driven by a suitable driving means and a housing containing said polishing body units and said driving means whereby more than one fingernails may be polished automatically and simultaneously.

The present invention will now be explained in detail by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a construction of a polishing body of the fingernail polishing device according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a vertical sectional view along line A-A of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a front side view of a housing containing the fingernail polishing device as shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a plurality of nail polishing body units mounted on an elongated shaft with collars therebetween;

FIG. 5 shows a side view of same, partly in section;

FIG. 6 shows a front side view of a housing containing the nail polishing body units as shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 shows an arrangement of a plurality of body units; according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 shows another arrangement of the body units; according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 shows a side view of a housing containing the nail polishing body units as shown in FIG. 7; and

FIG. 10 shows a. front side view of a housing containing the nail polishing body units as shown in FIG. 8.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, a nail polishing body P which constitutes a unit of a fingernail polishing device according to the present invention comprises a plurality of circular buffs l,,1, of different diameters (from larger to smaller) piled in layers one by one from both sides toward the center, with separators 2 -2, therebetween on a shaft 4 which passes through central apertures 3 of the buffs so that the outer circumferential surface of the polishing body represents a concave circular arc configuration. The polishing device thus formed may be contained in'a housing 5 together with a driving means (not shown) to drive the shaft 4 upon actuation of switch 7. The housing 5 has an aperture 6 for finger insertion provided at its'surface portion corresponding to that of the polishing body P, through which aperture 6 the user can polish his fingers.

In assembling the buffs l l and the separators 2,,-2,

it should be noted that the diameters of the buffs l -l,

are made larger than those of the respective adjacent separators 2,,2

In operation, when a fingernail is applied to the polishing body P, the tip of each buff is bent inwardly thereby to prevent the nail from contacting the surfaces of the separators 2,-2, and further, as the portion of each buff remote from the nail surface becomes straightly erected in spaced apart relationship with one another due to its own elasticity, and the centrifugal force resulting from rotation ofthe polishing body, the sensitive nail is prevented from being overheated and a lustrous finish of the nail is accomplished without any damages thereto.

Referring to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 which show another embodiment accordingto the present invention, a plurality (usually four) of polishing body units P,-P,, each having the same construction as that of the polishing body 1 as explained with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, are fixedly mounted in series on an elongated shaft 9 which passes through central apertures thereof (not shown), with the use of collars 8 of suitable width therebetween so that the nails N of four fingers may be polished automatically and simultaneously. These four polishing body units P on the single shaft 9 may be arranged in a housing 10 together with a driving means (not shown) and the user may polish his finger-nails through apertures 11 provided at portions of the housing 10 corresponding to those of the units, as shown in FIG. 6, upon actuation of a switch 12.

Lastly, referring to FIGS. 7, 8, 9 and 10 which show still another embodiments according to the present invention, first and second four polishing body units P and P,'-P,, mounted on respective elongated shafts l3 and 13', which are rotatable clockwise and counterclockwise respectively, are arranged parallel to each other with one end of each shaft being provided with a driving wheel 14 or 14' and further, a pair of single polishing body units P and P (adopted to polish the thumbs) with driving wheels 15 and 15 are provided laterally right above the longitudinal axis of each said shafts l3 and 13.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 8, said first and second four polishing body units P,P and P -P with the elongated shafts 13 and 13 (including the single polishing body units P and P arranged as aforesaid may be coupled aslant forming an internal angle upwardly therebetween, in such a manner that the ends of the shafts l3 and 13' away from the polishing body units P and P are rotatably supported by a pair of support members 17 and 17 which latter are connected by a universal joint 16. This arrangement is suitable for the best polishing posture of the user.

All the polishing units as above mentioned may be contained in a housing 18 or 22 as shown in FIG. 9 or together with a suitable driving means (not shown) and the user may polish all his fingernails of both hands automatically and simultaneously by operating the device by operating a switch 21 or 25 and by inserting all his fingers into apertures 19 and 20 (23 and 24) which latter are adopted for insertion of the big fingers from both sides of the housing.

Thus, as may be seen from the above description the advantages of the nail polishing device according to the present invention may be enumerated as follows:

a. due to the specific construction of the polishing body, when a fingernail is applied thereto the tip of every buff is bent inwardly and the nail is prevented from contacting the hard separators and is not damaged (FIG. 2);

b7 since the portion of every buff remote from the nail surface is kept erected in spaced apart relationship with one another due to its elasticity as well as the centrifugal force arising from the rotation of the polishing body the nail is not overheated by friction (FIG. 2); and

c. a plurality of fingernails including the thumbs can be polished automatically and simultaneously.

What I claim is:

l. A fingernail polishing device comprising: at least one cylindrical polishing body and rotating means therefor; said body being formed of a plurality of separate circular buffs of different diameters, made from a soft but resilient material, laterally piled in several layers, with separators therebetween, having slightly smaller diameters than said buffs; the diameters of said buffs gradually decreasing from both ends toward the center of said polishing body, with the outer circumferential surfaces of said at least one body constituting a sole inwardly curved concave circular arc configuration in each body, substantially similar to that of a fingernail to be polished; and a housing containing said at least one polishing body and said driving means, and having in a wall portion thereof at least one aperture in the region of said at least one polishing body, to allow a fingernail to be polished by means of the rotation of said body, and other portions of the hand to be kept away from the polishing action; wherein the rotation of said at least one polishing body and the pressing of the fingernail thereagainst bends the outer buffs inwardly, which have a larger diameter, thereby preventing the fingernail from contacting the surfaces of said separators.

2. The polishing device as defined in claim 1, wherein a plurality of said polishing bodies is fixedly mounted in series, with collars therebetween, on at least one shaft driven by said rotating means; said at least one aperture in the housing being provided at surface portions in the regions of said bodies, to allow more than one fingernail to be polished.

3. The polishing device as defined in claim 1, wherein a plurality of said polishing bodies is mounted on respective shafts, constituting two groups of bodies arranged parallel to each other, as well as a separate pair of said bodies, each laterally above the axes of said shafts; said housing containing said groups as well as said pair of bodies, each of said shafts mounting one of said groups of bodies and having thereon a driving wheel respectively linked to said rotating means; said housing being provided on both sides thereof with said apertures at surface portions in the regions of said bodies, to allow the fingernails of both hands to be polished simultaneously, including the thumbs. 

1. A fingernail polishing device comprising: at least one cylindrical polishing body and rotating means therefor; said body being formed of a plurality of separate circular buffs of different diameters, made from a soft but resilient material, laterally piled in several layers, with separators therebetween, having slightly smaller diameters than said buffs; the diameters of said buffs gradually decreasing from both ends toward the center of said polishing body, with the outer circumferential surfaces of said at least one body constituting a sole inwardly curved concave circular arc configuration in each body, substantially similar to that of a fingernail to be polished; and a housing containing said at least one polishing body and said driving means, and having in a wall portion thereof at least one aperture in the region of said at least one polishing body, to allow a fingernail to be polished by means of the rotation of said body, and other portions of the hand to be kept away from the polishing action; wherein the rotation of said at least one polishing body and the pressing of the fingernail thereagainst bends the outer buffs inwardly, which have a larger diameter, thereby preventing the fingernail from contacting the surfaces of said separators.
 2. The polishing device as defined in claim 1, wherein a plurality of said polishing bodies is fixedly mounted in series, with collars therebetween, on at least one shaft driven by said rotating means; said at least one aperture in the housing being provided at surface portions in the regions of said bodies, to allow more than one fingernail to be polished.
 3. The polishing device as defIned in claim 1, wherein a plurality of said polishing bodies is mounted on respective shafts, constituting two groups of bodies arranged parallel to each other, as well as a separate pair of said bodies, each laterally above the axes of said shafts; said housing containing said groups as well as said pair of bodies, each of said shafts mounting one of said groups of bodies and having thereon a driving wheel respectively linked to said rotating means; said housing being provided on both sides thereof with said apertures at surface portions in the regions of said bodies, to allow the fingernails of both hands to be polished simultaneously, including the thumbs. 